Chapter 363: Now You Must Choose (2)
Glenn’s face twisted into a confused expression. Beggars? What beggars could possibly be here?
It took him a moment to realize that Amelia was referring to them as “a bunch of beggars.”
“Beggars? What nonsense is this!” he exclaimed.
“Exactly what I said. You’re taking money from the Ducal family, taking money from Count Desmond, and yet you’ve failed to deal with the Scarlet Tower. Now you come asking me for more money? What exactly have you accomplished so far?”
“W-what…?” Glenn stammered.
“If you keep asking for money without delivering results, what else are you, but beggars? Do I look like someone who came out of a temple to serve charity?”
“You insolent…!”
Glenn was left speechless by Amelia’s harsh insults.
It was true—they had received a massive amount of money from the Ducal family and Count Desmond. But he felt a pang of injustice. That money had been spent entirely on trying to suffocate the Crimson Flame Tower.
If they succeeded, all the expenses would have been worth it. And even if they failed, someone like Amelia had no right to speak to them this way.
“Your words go too far! Your duty is to support us on behalf of Count Desmond! I will not tolerate further disrespect!”
Amelia curled her lips into a mocking smile.
“And what will you do if you don’t tolerate it?”
“I will go straight to the Tower Master and report this! The Ducal family will not sit idly by!”
“No, you won’t be going back.”
“How dare you!”
Realizing Amelia’s intent, Glenn quickly began to gather his mana. But before he could act, someone appeared silently behind him.
Thwack!
“Gah!”
Glenn looked down to see a serrated blade protruding from his stomach.
The one who had struck him was none other than Caleb, the leader of the Wildcat Smuggling Gang.
“You… you traitorous…!” Glenn coughed up blood as his trembling hand reached out. He couldn’t understand why Amelia had suddenly resorted to this betrayal. His mind was consumed by the single thought that Amelia had turned on him.
Slash!
Without a word, Caleb withdrew his sword and swiftly decapitated Glenn.
Glenn’s severed head rolled across the floor, his lifeless eyes still wide open in disbelief.
Amelia watched the head roll, her expression icy as she uttered coldly, “How arrogant.”
Then she turned away and continued speaking.
“Conrad.”
The leader of the Actium Merchant Guild, Conrad, bowed his head in response.
“Yes, my lord.”
“Lead the disguised merchants with Caleb and destroy the Scarlet Tower. Finish it before Delmud returns from the exchange meeting. Make it quick.”
“Who should we make it seem responsible for?”
“Fenris.”
“Understood.”
Conrad grasped Amelia’s plan immediately. The Scarlet Tower was a secret weapon of the Ducal family. Even if the Scarlet Tower fell, the Ducal family couldn’t openly intervene.
For Amelia, who sought to weaken the Ducal family’s influence, this was an excellent opportunity.
And once Delmud’s tower was destroyed, he would inevitably target Ghislain for revenge.
A sly grin spread across Amelia’s lips.
“No matter how powerful Delmud is as a 7th-circle mage, he can’t handle Fenris alone.”
Whether he fought in a fit of rage and died, or fled after losing everything, the result was the same. If a battle ensued, Fenris would undoubtedly suffer significant damage as well.
Either outcome benefited Amelia. It was the perfect chance to eliminate those “beggars” who kept demanding money under the Ducal family’s name.
Suddenly, Vulcan, a bandit leader who had been silently listening, burst out enthusiastically.
“Me! Let me go! You know I’m the best at killing people!”
Clearly itching for action, Vulcan bounced on his heels. But Amelia shook her head.
“You’re too conspicuous.”
The Scarlet Tower was located in the middle of a major city. Someone like Vulcan running wild would risk exposing their identities.
At her rejection, Vulcan’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. Sensing this, Amelia reassured him.
“I’ll give you a different mission instead.”
“Oh! What is it?”
Swish.
Amelia unfurled a map and pointed to a specific location.
“We need to clean up before the civil war begins. A proxy from the Ducal family is on their way. Take your men and annihilate them. Don’t forget to disguise yourselves.”
Vulcan, who commanded the majority of the northern bandits, was adept at masking their actions. Killing targets while disguised as ordinary bandits was a simple task for him.
The location Amelia indicated was an isolated area, perfect for eliminating a group without leaving any trace.
“Understood!”
Vulcan left excitedly, swinging his club as he went.
Amelia gave further instructions to the remaining retainers, ordering them to prepare the troops and assess the current stock of provisions.
Her side also had to finish all preparations before the civil war began.
Amelia didn’t care whether the Ducal family or the Royal Faction emerged victorious. She intended to tear everything down and rebuild from scratch anyway.
Her plan was to weaken both sides while they fought each other. Chaos was the only thing Amelia sought right now.
—
‘How many legs… do all the animals have?’
Ghislain, still pondering over Vanessa’s riddle about the legs of an animal, suddenly opened his eyes wide. The more he thought about it, the more his head hurt, making it impossible to stay lying down.
“Lord!”
Vanessa cried out with joy the moment he opened his eyes. Gillian and the knights standing nearby let out sighs of relief.
Ghislain licked his parched lips and asked, “How many legs… no, how much time has passed?”
Gillian promptly responded, “It’s been about a week.”
“I’ve been out a long time.”
“This time, it was truly dangerous.”
“Well, to face a 7th-circle mage, one must be prepared for that,” Ghislain replied with a faint smile.
Though he had passed out fighting the Blood Python before, this time had felt far worse.
He felt as if he had drained every last ounce of strength from his body, leaving him utterly withered.
“Urgh…”
Struggling, he managed to sit up and assess his condition. It felt like a drought-stricken land—his mana reserves were completely dry.
‘Strange. At this level, I should have woken up far later.’
Ordinary people would have died in his condition. Even someone of Ghislain’s caliber should have remained in a coma for at least a month.
While it seemed like he had been unconscious for a long time, considering his physical state, it felt too soon to wake up.
As he wondered about this anomaly, a weary voice echoed in his mind.
― “Ugh… You’re finally awake.”
‘Hmm?’
― “Damn it! Do you know how close you were to dying? If not for me, you’d be dead by now!”
‘Oh? What did you do?’
― “What else could I do? I used all my strength to cling to your fading life force! And I kept stirring up your emotions.”
‘Emotions?’
― “Yeah! That infernal rage of yours! It burned so fiercely, like you were determined not to die ‘again.’ I kept provoking it, and somehow you stayed alive despite being on the brink of death.”
Ghislain chuckled quietly. He hadn’t expected Dark to have such abilities.
Dark must have acted out of self-preservation as well, doing whatever it took to keep him alive.
The effort was so apparent that it brought a smile to Ghislain’s lips.
― “You’re laughing? Seriously? Do you always fight so recklessly? Are you living only for today? Is there no tomorrow for you?”
‘If you’d seen my past life, you’d understand.’
― “…”
Dark fell silent.
He knew full well that in Ghislain’s previous life, the man had fought as if throwing his life away, as if it didn’t matter when he died.
But Ghislain had never genuinely thought it was okay to die. It was just that his resolve in each battle was unparalleled.
Dark’s voice trembled as he asked,
― “Master… Did you really go back to the past?”
‘Yes.’
Ghislain spoke casually. Dark had already glimpsed fragments of his past life’s memories, so there was no need to hide it.
Even after hearing the confirmation, Dark reacted with disbelief, raising his voice.
― “No way! How? What did you do? And what about me in the past? Wait, is that why you came to find and capture me? Is this real? Did you really return to the past?”
Dark’s reaction was frenzied, torn between skepticism and an overflow of questions he couldn’t ignore.
Ghislain, however, shook his head.
‘Ask later. There’s no time to chat idly right now.’
With that, Dark fell silent.
Ghislain turned to Gillian and asked, “What else happened when I was out?”
Gillian’s expression darkened as he replied, “The Scarlet Tower has been destroyed.”
“I killed Delmud myself. The others were taken care of as well. So naturally, the tower would fall.”
“That’s not it… The tower was attacked, and all the remaining disciples were slaughtered. The entire place has been reduced to ashes.”
Ghislain’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. The Scarlet Tower’s downfall was inevitable after Delmud’s death.
However, the Scarlet Tower had been one of the most powerful forces in the North. Its remaining disciples should have been considerable in number and skill, yet it had been utterly obliterated.
“Who attacked it?”
Gillian hesitated briefly before responding, “There are rumors that we did. Several corpses wearing our army’s uniforms and carrying our identification were found at the scene.”
Ghislain tilted his head slightly in confusion and asked, “Was it Claude?”
There weren’t many people in the North bold enough to pull off such a reckless scheme. Naturally, he first suspected the biggest lunatic he could think of.
“No, it wasn’t. The Chief Overseer has raised defensive measures. He’s adamant about clearing the false accusations. For now, we don’t know who’s responsible.”
“Hmm…”
Ghislain crossed his arms and sank into thought. After a moment of deliberation, a name came to mind, and he nodded a few times.
“Amelia.”
If it were her, she would have the capability and determination to pull off such a move. He could even picture her reasoning clearly.
“She’s probably aiming to weaken the Ducal family first. The Royal Faction is still at a disadvantage for now.”
If Ghislain hadn’t come here and killed Delmud, things could have become quite troublesome.
The Scarlet Tower would have fallen, and the remaining mages of the Scarlet Tower would have inevitably fought Fenris.
Fortunately, he had dealt with Delmud in a one-on-one duel. If a 7th-circle mage had led dozens of mages into battle, it would have been hell.
Even if they had won in the end, Fenris would have suffered significant losses.
Amelia had not only eliminated the Ducal family’s hidden weapon but also aimed to weaken Fenris’ forces simultaneously.
“She seizes any opportunity that presents itself.”
Ghislain clicked his tongue in amazement. While he had set the stage, Amelia missed no chance to make her own moves. She was remarkably tenacious.
Of course, the destruction of the Scarlet Tower was something Ghislain had planned anyway. The rest was Amelia’s doing, which made things easier for him.
For Amelia, it was a partial success.
“It’s fine. There’s no need to make excuses. I killed Delmud, so I’ll take the blame. Let them curse me if they want.”
It didn’t matter who dealt the final blow. Since he had killed Delmud, the blame for the entire incident would ultimately fall on Ghislain.
However, the Ducal family couldn’t officially act. No one knew about their involvement with the Scarlet Tower, so for now, all they could do was grind their teeth in frustration.
“It’s time to prepare to leave. We have much to do once we return to the estate.”
Before Ghislain could finish speaking, the door suddenly burst open, and Hubert and the elders rushed in.
“Oh my! Count Ghislain! You’ve finally awoken! The strongest in the North! A Sword Master!”
Hubert approached him in exaggerated excitement, his eyes sparkling as if he were about to shed tears of joy.
Initially startled, Hubert quickly grasped the situation and practically danced with delight.
The Scarlet Tower, their rival, had collapsed completely. At last, they could reclaim their title as the premier tower in the North.
Ghislain had done all the work, but to Hubert, it didn’t matter who was responsible. What mattered was that the Crimson Flame Tower was now the strongest in the North. That meant more wealth and more luxury.
“So, the Scarlet Tower was wiped out entirely? If only you had told me earlier, we could have helped out.”
Hubert rattled off meaningless pleasantries, though he would have likely found excuses to avoid involvement if asked.
But Ghislain wasn’t going to let him off so easily this time.
“You’re curious why this happened?”
“Y-yes, of course! While the result is good, it’s all so sudden…”
“The Scarlet Tower was nurtured by the Ducal family. Their task was to eliminate the Crimson Flame Tower, so I took care of them.”
Hubert and the elders paled at those words.
The idea that the Ducal family had been targeting them was terrifying. They couldn’t even begin to process what they’d just heard.
“Why? Why would the Ducal family use the Scarlet Tower to target us?”
Ghislain explained the events that had transpired and how the Ducal family was preparing for an impending civil war.
“T-that can’t be… So the Ducal family is eliminating all obstacles before the civil war begins?”
“That’s correct. Destroying the Crimson Flame Tower was part of that plan. You’ve probably heard about the disappearance of several other towers in other regions.”
Hubert nodded involuntarily. For various reasons, several towers had indeed vanished.
But he had never dreamed that all of it was orchestrated by the Ducal family.
If Ghislain was telling the truth, the traditional unspoken rules among mages wouldn’t matter anymore. Once the civil war began, all non-Ducal towers would likely have already been wiped out.
This would leave only the towers under the Ducal family’s control free to act.
The mere thought sent chills down Hubert’s spine. That they had been planning this for years was horrifying.
Ghislain issued a stark warning to Hubert.
“Now, you must choose. Stay where you are and be destroyed by the Ducal family, or fight alongside us.”
Hubert and the elders gulped nervously. Truthfully, they didn’t want to fight.
Hubert’s mind raced as he tried to devise a way out of this predicament. Then, he hit upon an idea.
“W-what if we side with the Ducal family?”
Ghislain smiled brightly and replied, “Then you’ll die by my hand first. We’re closer, after all. Or should we settle it now? Gillian.”
Gillian unsheathed his axe and bowed his head.
“Just give the order.”
Hubert and the elders gaped at the scene, utterly stunned.
Raising the price of runestones on a whim was one thing, but now Ghislain was openly threatening to kill them.
And there was nothing they could do to stop him. He was now the strongest in the North.
‘I should never have gotten involved with this reckless lunatic!’
Tears welled up in Hubert’s eyes as he sniffled and lowered his head in surrender.
A single tear fell down his cheek.